Dangan Ronpa x Liar Game: Set in Fate
by Craftsdwarf
Summary: (Rated for language) After the last round of the Liar Game Tournament, Akiyama and Nao take part in yet another Consolation Match so they might move on to the next round, but a rather strange girl stands in their way. The name of the game is...
1. Chapter 1

Spitting out a gross cloud of exhaust, the bus rolled out from the distant, lonely corner of the city. "Hem hem...ooh," the lone, disembarking passenger coughed as she was left alone. Waving her hands and realigning the brownish-orange locks of her medium length hair, Kanzaki Nao tried to walk, but nearly stumbled in her heeled shoes on the uneven pavement, grass and weeds growing in between the cracks. Regaining her footing, she patted down her white one piece dress and light beige coat before letting out a sigh: hopefully this wasn't a sign of things to come.

Briefly tightening her fists and taking a breath, Nao pepped herself up a bit before glancing down at the black card she held in her hand: the invitation for the next Consolation Match. She'd lost the Fourth Round so it was only a matter of time, but who knew if she was going to bump into any of the others she was becoming more familiar with. Since Nao still had a 200 million yen debt, she had no choice but to participate. Her lawyer hadn't even bothered to contact her this time (not that she minded...).

Feet pattering about as she wandered, trying to figure out where her invitation was trying to take her, she was coming up blank. This area was rather abandoned: the buildings were sad and old looking while the gutters were making friends with a bunch of garbage. Part of her was feeling bad about the people who probably used to work here, but as she thought about being late to the game her anxiety grew. When her sense of direction failed her, she tried to find someone else, but the street was...

Finally, someone caught her eye. Nao broke into a run, arms waving at her side as she cried, "Akiyama-saaaaaan!" The man stopped as she approached, his posture casual like his state of dress in his plain jeans and white short-sleeved shirt over a black long-sleeved one. His light brown bangs parted between and around his sharp baggy eyes had come to be something of a relief to her these past few weeks...unless they seemed to be aimed at her with a hint of...was that irritation? Nao's stride slowed as she came to a stop.

Restarting his walk, Akiyama Shinichi grumbled lightly, "I want to ask what you're doing here, but I'm sure the answer wouldn't surprise me."

Meekly, Nao followed along like a lost puppy, admitting, "I couldn't find out where we're supposed to go..."

"Never mind," Akiyama replied.

Taking a breath of relief now that Akiyama was here, she let her mind go off as he led the way before something popped into her brain. Remembering the Pandemic Game, Nao wondered, "Akiyama-san, did Yokoya's checks bounce? They'd have covered your debt, wouldn't they?"

Akiyama let out a brief sniff of amusement before commenting, "Yokoya having financial troubles would be worth almost as much as the checks. Don't you worry about it though." Pointing a finger at one multi-storied office building, he noted, "That's where we're going." Nao felt silly as she looked to the doorway: though the glass double-doors weren't exactly spotless, she could easily spot someone standing alone on the inside, even from here.

As the pair approached, the doors came open, the Liar Game host greeted them with open arms, his suit fancy, his white mask marked with mildly curved lines around the eyes and cheeks that made him seem a bit older, though the gray, thinning hair and chunky figure didn't help. "Bonjour!" he said as he held the doors wide.

"B-bonjour," Nao replied awkwardly. Akiyama gave her a sideways glance, making Nao feel a bit self conscious.

"And bonjour again!" he continued, stepping aside, gesturing for them to enter as he held the door. Akiyama entered first, trailed by Nao. As the host followed, Nao winced a bit as she caught a mildewy scent in the recently swept building, though it wasn't as if these abandoned places should really be strange to her these days.

"My name is Urquhart. I will be your lead host today. I apologize that we are lacking the usual formalities in regards to transportation: the number of games taking place today all around the country is quite high, stretching us thin. You'll understand in just a moment." As he explained, Urquhart began to lead them up a staircase, passing the elevator without a glance. While he led them through the halls of the building, Nao saw so many things left behind by the previous workers. She hoped they were now working good jobs...

Passing through a long hall with yucky windows on one side (sun from outside making the dust visible), and half open office doors at the other, Nao guessed they were on the top floor before Urquhart opened the door to the office at the very end of the final hall. Scent of candles brushing her nose, she expected heat but got a draft of cool air instead. As she looked in, the plush red carpet was quite clean and fluffy, and the black curtains over the windows had been thrown open, the window quite spotless on both sides. As she entered, the hum of an air condition caught her ears, but something caught her eyes and didn't let go easily.

At the round, green topped table seated for four, a teenage girl sat casually, one of her stocking clad legs crossed over the other. Her skin was pale, her eyes closed as she sipped a cup of tea from a white china cup. While her amazingly large, black, hair drills were noticeable alongside her lacy white headpiece, she wore a similarly cute lacy black, gothic dress with a red necktie and heels. She seemed so natural among the flower scented, red candles and fold out tea table that Nao was the one feeling out of place and underdressed.

Lowering her cup, the girl opened one of her red eyes, letting out a light giggle, amused at the attention she was getting. Akiyama seemed less than interested though, slipping in to one of the seats without pause.

As Nao became aware of another featureless Liar Game associate, standing off to the side in his plain white mask, Urquhart noted, "It seems we're down one: I shall return when our last contestant arrives." Without further word, he closed the door behind him as he left.

Patting down the hem of her dress, Nao took the seat across from the other girl, who began, "Delighted to meet you, Miss..."

"A-ah, I'm Kanzaki Nao. And this is Akiyama-san."

"Celestia Ludenburg. It's quite the pleasure." Nao smiled, but for a moment, she almost wanted to laugh, then she felt guilty. She didn't know Celes was foreign! Lowering her head, Nao nearly started to cry. She couldn't imagine getting tangled up in the Liar Game while on a visit to another country...

"Would you like some tea?" Celes offered.

Akiyama didn't move while Nao, not wanting Celes to feel bad, quickly replied, "Sure!"

Placing down her own cup, Celes gingerly grabbed another cup and saucer, placing them on the table before delicately grasping the teapot, elegantly pouring it without a wasted movement before sliding the steaming cup down. Once Nao was able to reach it, she pulled it to her. As she caught the scent, she felt her muscles loosen. It no longer felt like the Liar Game here.

As she waited for her cup to cool, she was bopped back to her senses when the door opened a few minutes later, an unfamiliar boy stepping through. He was on the young side, perhaps only a year from graduation. Once again, Nao was concerned: was the Liar Game interfering with his studies? He didn't seem too anxious though, and his clothing was casual too: he wore a red baseball cap advertising one of the more famous teams over his short, brown hair, and a dark gray coat open over a sleeveless white shirt. Green eyes half lidded, he seemed aimless as he walked over to the last free chair, slumping down in the seat across from Akiyama. Celes only gave a quick smile in greeting, before turning back to her tea.

Closing the door Urquhart seemed to beam. "Now that the players are all assembled, we are almost ready to begin!"

Nao grabbed her cup as the other employee in the corner came over, standing between Celes and the boy in the cap. The man in the blank mask said nothing as he pulled up a briefcase Nao hadn't seen behind the table, plopping it down. As he cracked it open, Urquhart began, "Now, the 100 million yen you will using today takes the form of these chips." The dealer began to pass out stacks of maroon poker chips, otherwise plain. "You will also competing for the right to take part in the next round of the Liar Game, so take care not to lose them."

"Kukuku, or perhaps I should rescind that?" Urquhart added, tone of his voice becoming a bit sharper. "You see, your hold on these chips might need to loosen in this game, as the name of the game today is **Tribute Poker**."

* * *

 **Some terms you had better be familiar with for the coming chapters! I had to look them up to write this, so I hope it helps you:**

 **Check: If no player has made a bet, then calling Check effectively allows them to pass for the time being, though they can bet again later as long as they do not Fold. Betting goes clockwise starting from the position of the dealer.**

 **Call: If a bet has been made, than a player who Calls is matching that bet. If they instead choose to Raise (or Re-raise) then the other players have a chance to Call or Fold again. If there is a full rotation and no player Raises, then the betting is over and players reveal their hands.**

 **Hands: If two Poker hands are the same (such as two Full Houses) then the highest card wins. From Highest to Lowest: Ace-King-Queen-Jack-10 through 2. From Best to Worst Hands:**

 **Royal Flush/Straight Flush - A sequence of 5 cards in the same suit (Six of Hearts through Two of Hearts, Jack of Clubs through Seven of Clubs). Ace through Ten is the highest possible, thus the Royal Flush.**

 **Four of a Kind - All four of one card in each suit**

 **Full House - A Triplet of one card and a Pair of another**

 **Flush - Five cards in the same suit**

 **Straight - A sequence of five cards in differing suits**

 **Three of a Kind**

 **2 Pair**

 **1 Pair**

 **High Card - No previous hand is met, so only the highest remaining card is counted**


	2. Chapter 2

"Ka!" Nao gasped, her tongue scorched on the still hot tea. As eyes moved her way, she wasn't sure if she was feeling warm from heat or embarrassment. "S-sowwy..." Nao moped, tongue catching the cooling air. Celes had her hand to her mouth as she giggled, while the boy in the cap was biting his lip as he tried not to laugh.

Urquhart seemed to stare for a brief moment, before he continued, "Ahem. As I was saying, the name of the game is **Tribute Poker**." Withdrawing a deck of red backed cards from the briefcase, Urquhart grabbed it before the dealer went back to passing out the chips. Smacking the base against the table, he cracked open the fresh box before dumping the cards into his hand, beginning to shuffle cleanly.

"Now, while you might familiar with your standard varieties of Poker, but today you shall be playing under house rules, heavily derived from the Anaconda variant. And like its name, if you aren't careful you may be swallowed up, for only the player with the most chips in their possession in the end will be moving on the the next round!"

With all the chips handed out, Nao briefly added it up, counting...one two three four...ten chips each stacks, with ten stacks together. Nice and even. Urquhart stepped back as the dealer stepped forwards, beginning, "Now that you each have been given your loan of 100 million yen in the form of these chips, we shall do a practice round as I explain the rules." The dealer shuffled the deck a bit more before placing it down, allowing Urquhart to cut it. Picking it back up, the dealer began to pass the cards around.

"Firstly, all players will be given 6 cards each." Nao watched as the cards were flicked around, until each hand was delivered. Picking up her cards, she gave them a look. While the Queen of Hearts was nice, and the Eight of Spades a bit out of place, she had a nice run with the other four. With the Two of Hearts, the Three of Spades, the Four of Diamonds, and the Five of Spades, she was one card away from a Straight, though chances are it would be pretty low. As a smile came to her face, she quickly remembered the game and tried her best to act natural. Glancing up, the boy in the cap seemed to be unhappy with his lot, while Celes and Akiyama didn't seem too fussed one way or another.

"The next exchange will serve as the first hand of two, two hands making up a set. For this practice game, we will only place one set, but the genuine article will consist of ten hands within five sets. So, if you would, we will enter the first passing phase: please choose three of your cards and pass them along clockwise to the next player face down. Please do not take the cards until the signal is given after all players have successfully passed their cards."

Nao's hidden smile dropped to a frown: now things weren't looking as good. Though her run was nice, now she had no choice but to break it up. Then that Queen in her hand stared her down: should she really pass a valuable face card? But keeping it would mean breaking up her run even more...

Sadly, she decided to give it up, passing it along with her Eight and her Two, keeping the Five, Four, and Three. As she placed the by the boy, who had placed his three remaining cards down, and was resting his head on his fist, elbow on the table. Once Nao placed his cards, he glanced down at them, before reaching for them. "Ah!" Nao gasped. That was definitely against the rules!

Realizing what he was doing, the boy stopped, before adjusting his sitting, leaning back in his chair away from any cards, his face sour. Somehow feeling like she'd done something wrong, Nao asked, "Um, excuse me..."

The boy blinked, before answering, "Osamu Gai."

"Ah, thank you."

...

After a bit of silence, Osamu asked, "Did you need something?"

"S-sorry, never mind," Nao mumbled.

In silence, the last few cards were passed, before the dealer finally mumbled, "Take your cards." Reaching over, Nao picked up hers, granted by Akiyama, lighting up once again. Alongside her run of Three to Five, she now had a Six of Clubs, a Seven of Spades, and a Nine of Clubs leftover.

Before she could get attached, Urquhart said, "Now, in this next round of passing, you will send along two cards."

Biting the inside of her lip, Nao had become too attached to her Straight to give up now, passing along the ends: the Nine and the Three. There was a bit less waiting this time: Osamu passed his cards really quickly, but Celes seemed to take a long time compared to everyone else. Once the cards were passed, the dealer gave the signal, and Nao took up hers, finding herself with the Ten of Clubs and the Eight of Hearts.

Urquhart ordered, "Now, for the last round of passing: a single card, please."

Nao didn't hesitate to drop her Ten, but once again Celes seemed to be taking a little bit, eyeing the card Osamu passed her carefully.

Once she passed her card, the players were allowed to take the last one, Nao finding an Ace of Diamonds. Normally that would be a good thing, but it didn't go with her hand at all! While she was getting ready to pass it, Urquhart spoke, "Normally, we would begin the betting, starting with Ludenburg-san. If she were to make a bet, she would need to use the minimum amount of ten chips, or 10 million yen, though there are no blinds forcing a player to bet. However, in these practice rounds, I will ask the players to show their hands. Ludenburg-san?"

With a light sigh, she revealed Two Kings, one Nine, and three Twos (including the Two of Hearts Nao had passed along). "A Full House," she said plainly, as if bored.

Then was Akiyama. "Three of a Kind." He had thee fives, a King, a Jack, and a Nine."

When it was her turn, Nao showed off, "A Straight." Four through Eight.

Osamu clicked his tongue, tossing his hand on the table. Except for a Four of Clubs, they were all five cards Nao had passed along. Urquhart announced, "High Card Queen."

Celes giggled, "You are quite lucky there is no betting this hand."

Urquhart concluded, "In a genuine game, Celestia Ludenburg would have been the victor. However, in this hand, you have only played a fraction of the game." Reaching a hand out, he silently requested Celes' cards. Stacking them, Celes passed them together, Urquhart unfolding them before placing three of them down on the table: the Nine of Clubs, the King of Clubs, and the Two of Hearts.

"This rule concerns the namesake of the game: tribute. During any of the passing rounds, you may place a card from your hand face up on the table, allowing anyone to see it. This is not a free action, however: you must throw a fee into the pot to do so. The sacrifice is by no means cheap: cards numbered Two through Eight cost five million yen, or five chips. Cards numbered Nine through the Jack are ten chips, while the Queen, King, and Ace require fifteen chips. This fee doesn't count as a bet, however: if you plan on taking part in a hand after making a tribute, you still need to supply the minimum ten chips."

"Hah? Who the hell would do that?" Osamu grumbled.

"Excellent question! It seems foolish, but the benefits could very well be worth it. You see, a card on the table in front of you will not move until you decide it. You may return it to your hand at any time after being dealt your cards and before showing your hand after betting, but if you don't, it persists: the tributed card will remain there even as the deck is shuffled for the next round! You risk losing the chips put in the pot for the sacrifice, but with clever planning and a bit of luck, it could be well worth it, though a miscalculation or misfortune may result in a bust. If you have no chips to play, you will, quite simply, lose."

Nao titled her head, but she couldn't think of any ways to use it at the moment. Osamu also seemed unhappy. Celes however, beamed, "My my, isn't that a fascinating little rule? But I wonder: would utilizing these tributes allow players to have seven cards in subsequent hands?"

Urquhart answered, "This is not the case. A tributed card counts as a spot in one hand. If you were to have these three cards tributed, for instance, then you would only be able to have three cards in your hand: the minimum before the first passing phase. They will not count to your final hand until you return them there, however."

"Shall we try it? Let us begin the next hand!" Movements as light and mesmerizing as before, the dealer passed out the next set of hands.

Once she had her six, Nao took stock of her hand and winced: it wasn't good. Two of Clubs, Two of Hearts, Three of Hearts, Five of Spades, Seven of Spades, and the Eight of Spades. She was only going to be able to keep half, and nothing seemed worth tributing. As she passed along her Seven, Three, and Five, Akiyama spoke up.

"I'm making a tribute." He put down two cards: a Five and a Six, each of Clubs. Afterwards, he briefly looked at Celes, who's red eyes glanced down at the tributed cards for a moment before returning to her own hand.

Under his breath, Osamu muttered, "What are you doing?" Nao trusted that Akiyama was going somewhere with this, but still.

Noticing her eyes, Akiyama said, "It's still the mock game: I didn't pay a thing."

Awkwardly, Nao laughed, "Aha, that's true..."

After more deliberation, Celes finally made her passes, and the players took their gains. As Nao picked up her cards, she reeled.

The Ace of Diamonds, the Ace of Clubs, and the Jack of Hearts.

"A-Akiyama-san!" Nao blurted. Nothing he was doing made any sense.

He chided, "Keep your cool." Sensing Celes' gaze on her, Nao took a breath, before taking a sip of her tea, now at a nice temperature. Her mind a bit clearer, she looked her hand, trying to choose her passes. However, there was also...she could tribute freely here! Looking back at Akiyama's two tributes, she wasn't sure what good that was, but she did have two pairs, so...

"I-I'm also making a tribute." Swallowing, Nao gingerly put down one of her Twos. _It's just a mock game, it's just a mock game..._

Celes raised an eyebrow, while Osamu was busy trying to pay as little attention to the game as possible, his passed cards already by Celes.

Once the next set of passes were made, Nao looked at her new cards and started to glow: two Twos! She had Four of a Kind and two Aces! Passing along one of her Aces, she awaited the next phase eagerly.

The fastest phase done with, Nao took her last card, the Three of Spades, before Urquhart began, "As this is the last hand of the mock game, I will point out that your tributed cards will not carry over this time only, so I would recommend re-adding them to your hands before you reveal them!"

Listening, Nao took back her Two card as Akiyama took back his two cards. Once everyone was ready, Celes revealed, "Yet another Full House." This one was the stronger, however: three Kings, two Threes (one of them formerly Nao's), and the Jack of Hearts (another of hers) on the side.

Akiyama put down his hand with disinterest. It was a single pair of Fives, including one of the ones he'd tributed.

Nao burst out, "Four of a Kind!" A Three, an Ace, and four Twos!

Looking down, she finally noticed that Osamu's hand was already laid out: a pair of Eights was all he had.

"And so Nao is the winner of this hand!" Urquhart concluded.

As Nao giggled in the glow of her win, Akiyama reiterated, "Still just a mock game."

Passing her cards along to the dealer, Celes moped, "My my, what good luck you have!" Leaning back into her chair, she grasped her teacup before sharing, "I have something of a history with gambling, you know, even though I'm only sixteen. My luck is usually something to behold." Taking a sip, an eye cracked open as Celes lower her cup, remarking, "I wonder what luck...no, fate has in store for today."

With the wind taken out of her sails, Nao could only wait as the dealer began to shuffle. Urquhart nodded, speaking, "Typically, after the completion of a set, I would allow the players to take a ten minute break to freshen their minds, but for now I am going to let you keep playing the next set as I take a leave. I shall be back within moments if their is any dispute." Nao blinked, a bit surprised, as he got out, the players now alone with the quiet dealer.

Putting her fingertips together, showing off a metal finger guard as the dealer began to pass out the next hand, Celes suggested, "I'm certain we can play a nice, civil game without our Host."

Fist firmly knocking on the table, Osamu leaned forward, his energy showing as he growled, "For _real_ now."

"Not so sure about that," Akiyama snipped. Nao kept quiet as the last of her cards came in.

Once again, she had another run: Three of Diamonds, Four of Spades, Five of Hearts, and the Six of Diamonds, with the Ten of Spades and the Queen of Hearts too. Thinking back to her previous dilemma, it didn't quite work out, as Celes ended up with a Full House. If she got another one this round then that would have been the third in a row.

Looking over to Akiyama, he had settled on which cards he was passing over, but didn't look like he was going to make a tribute quite yet. There wasn't a rule against talking, but Akiyama wasn't loosing his lips either. Taking a look at the others, Osamu was noisily tapping the butt of his three card hand against the table while Celes' was running a finger of her free hand around the edge of her cup. Finishing off her own cup, Nao did the same as before, sending off her Queen, Ten, and Three.

At the signal, she took her cards from Akiyama, feeling mixed as she saw the Ace of Clubs, King of Diamonds, and Ten of Clubs. She was regretting her move now...she should have known!

Almost in mourning, she passed along more of her straight, the Four and Five, before awaiting what Akiyama had left to give; although she wasn't too happy about relying on him as usual. Osamu seemed flustered, but she couldn't read Celes or Akiyama, unsurprisingly.

Taking her two cards, she would never admit that she was disapointed in Akiyama, but a Ten of Diamonds and a Nine of Spades wasn't much to go on. Passing along her Six, she could only wait.

In less than a minute, the final passes were made. As Nao was preparing herself to show her sad hand, Celes noted, "Ah, I'm still next to the dealer, so...it would be quite boring if no one bet. There aren't any blinds after all, so I'll open with the minimum of ten chips."

"Call." Akiyama didn't hesitate.

Nao however had little choice. "Fold..."

Osamu studied his hand, flicking his thumb against the corners of his cards before stating, "Fol-...no, I'll call."

Pale lips curling up, Celes responded, "Check." Akiyama and Osamu made no change, calling Check as well.

Celes giggled, "Poor Nao-chan. If I may ask, what lot did you end up with?"

Lightly bowing her hand, Nao lowered her hand, her Tens on top. "One pair."

Glancing to her side, Celes requested, "Boys?"

Akiyama made no move, but Osamu proudly showed off a Ten amongst a mishmash of card suits from Three to Seven. "A Straight!"

Nao moped under her breath, "My Straight..."

Lowering his hand, Akiyama showed off a Jack along with a straight of his own, however there was one difference. "A Straight, Eight high." Osamu gawked for a moment before he flipped his hand over, the cards scattering to the table as he threw himself back into his chair.

Celes scoffed, "Such disrespect." She flashed her hand, "You are in the presence of ladies."

Ace of Hearts, Ace of Spades, and Four Queens.

The dealer passed Celes her surplus of chips while Osamu sputtered nonsense in disbelief. Akiyama seemed to shed a drop of sweat, and Nao was glad she'd dropped out.

"Ufufu, don't be too surprised. This is more typical of me than my showing in our previous hands," Celes gloated as she passed her cards back to the dealer.

Once the players had surrendered their cards, the dealer began to shuffle before passing them out. Worried, Nao looked to Akiyama. As the pile of cards in front of him grew, he insisted, "Just play it cool for now."

Celes huffed at him as the dealing finished. Nao gave her hand a look: Three of Diamonds, Five of Diamonds, Eight of Hearts, Nine of Spades, Jack of Spades, and Queen of Clubs. Keeping the higher cards, not to far from a straight, she passed along the Five, Three, and Eight.

Once again, Celes was the only one taking her time, the sound of her metal finger guard tinkling against her cup seeming to count down to her choice. Once she finished, the cards were passed, Nao taking a look at her new cards: the Eight of Spades, the Jack of Clubs, and the King of Diamonds.

Satisfied with her face cards, she was about to simply pass, but her extra Jack was watching her. Should...should she Tribute it? Being stuck with five cards wasn't so bad, and maybe she could use it later?

Taking it from her hand, she tilted her head at Akiyama, who'd already made his choice of passes, a finger tapping at the table. Sensing Nao's eyes, he looked over, seeing her loose card, before shaking his head. At bit more at ease, Nao kept it, passing her Eight and Nine to Osamu.

Picking up her next two cards, she found two Sixes, one of Clubs and one of Diamonds. Mulling it over...the best thing she could add to her hand was a Jack, which would give her a Full House, right? She'd need an Ace and a Ten to get a straight, and there was no hope of that now, so she passed along her Queen.

Everyone's hands taking shape, Nao got her final card shortly: the Six of Spades. That was the next best thing! It was a Full House.

"I'll start betting with the minimum," Celes recited, putting her chips forward.

"Fold," Akiyama stated.

Put on the spot, Nao felt Celes' eyes poke into her. She took another look at her hand: it was winnable! Placing a hand on one of her stacks of chips, she moved to push it forwards, but her sense nagged at her.

Celes was doing amazingly well: her _worst_ hand thus far had been a Full House. Wasn't she doing _too_ well?

But Akiyama was up to something: he gave her most of the Full House for a reason. He wanted her to win, right?

Wait, Celes couldn't have cheated! She had to give up her half her hand, so it's not like she could have drawn exactly what she wanted...

Not quite able to put it together quite yet, Nao didn't want Akiyama's efforts to go to waste. "Call," she dared, pushing ten chips forwards.

Osamu grunted, "Fold."

Celes glanced at the modest pot, noting, "Ah, just us two girls this hand then?" Eyes wandering, she wondered, "Still, you were so hesitant. Is that hand worth...11 million yen to you?" About to slide a single chip into the pot, she turned to the dealer, asking, "Such a small amount is suitable, yes?" The dealer nodded, and she shoved her chip forwards.

Nao was starting to sweat: the anaconda was moving to swallow her. Even though it was such a tiny increase, it was such a large amount all together. But this was only the second hand: she wasn't going to give up now. Not completely.

Looking up at Celes, not flinching from her red eyes, Nao began, "I don't really know you. Either of you. But you don't know us either. Akiyama-san and I have been winning our rounds of the Liar Game and using our winnings to pay off the debts of the other players who can't participate anymore. I might not be good enough to win the Liar Game on my own, but I still want to go to the next round and help the others who are trapped in this game. Maybe we can...work together?"

Celes stared for a moment, before giggling, "Is this some joke, Nao-chan?" Her stare did not falter, so Celes dropped her smile. "How disappointing. I thought you might have some spirit, but this early into the game and you're already trying to guilt us in compensation for your lackluster abilities..."

"No, trust me!" Nao cried. Celes was silent, closing her eyes, while Osamu acted as if she hadn't spoken at all. Disappointed, Nao insisted, "I'm not giving up."

Placing her hand down, she conceded, "I fold."

Celes scoffed, "That is quite the opposite of not giving up." Osamu snickered. Nao kept silent. In time...

After a moment, Celes requested, "Well...you must have had something in your hand, yes?"

Nao revealed her Full House. "My my, that isn't quite 11 million yen after all. How sad. Perhaps you will have better luck next time."

As she moved to pack up, Akiyama suddenly spoke, "One sec." Showing his hand: a pair of Fours along with junk in the form of a Two, a Three, a Five, and a Ten, Akiyama asked, "You aren't just going to take your break without showing your cards, are you two?"

Osamu clicked his tongue. "Whatever gets your rocks off, man." High Card Queen of Clubs, a Two of Clubs, a Seven of Diamonds, the rest cards Nao had-

Wait.

Nao passed him...

...

Before she could process it, Celes giggled, before stating,"You read me like a book, Akiyama-san. After all, how could we move on without our set of players knowing what a hand worth 11...no, 100 million looks like." She fanned it out in front of her. A Straight Flush, Eight of Hearts through Queen of Hearts, a Nine of Spades hidden behind it, as if in shame.

"Oh come on!" Osamu grunted, hopping up from his seat. The dealer passed Celes her chips, setting her total at 130, leaving the others tied at 90.

The dealer croaked, "You have ten minutes. Please be on time."

Akiyama didn't waste a second, hopping off his chair and moving for the door, Nao not letting herself get far behind. Moving from the well decorated game room, they went back into the dusty office complex, going down a few doors before moving into another room. It was yet another one man office, this one nearly stripped bare, nails for hanging decorations still on the walls, along with strings of cobwebs.

Sinking to her knees, Nao sighed, moping, "What are we going to do?"

Leaning against the wall, Akiyama wondered, "What happened to the toughness while you were giving your usual Nao-isms back there?"

Nao almost blushed. _Toughne_ -

Nao stopped. "Nao-isms?" she repeated. Shaking her head, she stood up, returning to the important topic, "But what are we going to do?"

Akiyama asked, "First off, I want you to tell me what you passed to that kid. Everything you can remember.

Nao gasped, "Ah! Last hand I gave him two Eights. Not at the same time, but..."

"Yeah, Osamu passed one along to Celes, and it ended up in her winning hand. What else did you pass him?"

Nao took a moment to remember before listing off, "Three of Diamonds, Five of Diamonds, Eight of Hearts, Eight of Spades, Nine of Spades, Queen of Clubs."

Akiyama thought for a moment, before concluding, "That doesn't add up at all, does it? Celes passed me Two Sixes and a Five first thing, so that means her best possible hand would have included the Queen, Jack, and Ten of Hearts, meaning Osamu must have passed her the Nine and Eight. You gave him that Eight, so, if you had a Two and a Seven, would you honestly pass a Nine on?"

Nao agreed, "That..."

"I'm positive they're working together."

"Ehhhh!?" Nao gasped. She couldn't envision it: they seemed like they were from two different worlds.

"Just think about it for a moment: that would explain her 'luck', easy. It worked for you too: a Full House isn't bad, and you won the second round of the mock game."

Nao nodded, agreeing, "I knew I was getting too many good cards." Pouting, she recalled, "I had to fold in the first real hand though..."

Akiyama began, "That's fine, there's a bit more we can do. Tributing is something we can work to our favor." A confident smirk probably aimed at Celes came to his face as he laughed, "Heh heh heh, no. With what I have in mind, we'll definitely bring down her 'luck'."


	3. Chapter 3

The losers were late.

Sun from the window roasting the back of his neck, Osamu was feeling the heat in his jacket. He was itching to find the remote to that air conditioner and pump it up. What was with the candles anyway? It was all such a pain...

The door opened, but Osamu didn't even bother to sit up as...what were their names? Nao and Akiyama or something. They finally got back and took their seats, but Celes didn't even look up from her tea until Akiyama said, "You know, on second thought, maybe I will have some tea."

Celes gave him some kind of a look before pouring him a fresh cup. Osamu grimaced: black tea had never been his thing. Too many bad memories of being forced to choke it down when he was a kid.

Moving in between Celes and Akiyama, the dealer stated, "We shall now begin the first hand in the second set." Shuffling up the cards, he flung them out, filling everyone's hand.

Picking up his, Osamu found the Eights of Hearts, the Eight of Diamonds, the Six of Hearts, the King of Clubs, the Ace of Clubs, and the Ace of Diamonds. Not too shabby. He pretended to give it some thought as Akiyama made the first pass, Celes and Nao taking their time. After Osamu made his passes, leaning back in his chair, he ended up sitting right back up again a moment later.

Sliding a Seven of Diamonds onto the table, Nao said, "I'm making a Tribute." Osamu couldn't help but watch her out of the corner of his eye after she passed five chips to the center as her fee. What the hell was she thinking?

Last again, Celes made her passes before everyone took their new cards. Osamu narrowed his eyes when he saw the Jack of Spades among his cards, alongside a Six and a Ten of Hearts. These weren't half bad: guess she was just an idiot. She sure seemed like one of those klutzy moé types. Honestly they kind of pissed Osamu off. He'd take a maiden like Celes any day.

Throwing the cards he couldn't make use of away, he once again waited as the others took their sweet time. Nao was happy about something: she was probably too brain damaged to keep a straight face in poker of all things. At least Akiyama seemed to know what he was doing, but he hadn't had a half decent hand yet. Not that Osamu could talk...

More passing. Osamu got the 10 of Diamonds and...the Ace of Hearts!? Osamu pulled his red cap down over his eyes as he hid his glare. This dumb girl...

Things speeding up, Osamu got his last card: a Nine of Spades. Passing done and over with, Akiyama began, "Ten chips." The dealer moved a minute ago, so now it was his turn to start, or whatever.

Lips curling up, Celes giggled, "Oho~"

Nao looked down at her tributed card before pushing ten chips forwards. "Call."

Grinning, Osamu joined in, "Call."

Celes had her eyes closed as she calmly said, "Raise." She pushed fifteen chips in easily.

After a moment, Akiyama shrugged, placing his hand down, folding. Nao looked at him nervously. _Haha, your buddy gave up. What now?_

Picking her tributed Seven off the table, Nao pushed in five more chips. "Call."

Narrowing an eye, Osamu looked down at his cards. His hand hovered by his chips, before he clicked his tongue, muttering, "Fold..." Another ten chips in the hole... Oh well.

Celes smiled. "Well, I think I'm quite done with betting. Ten, ten, fifteen, fifteen, and five from the tribute...a 55 million yen pot is quite enough." Eyes looking back and forth, she requested, "Boys?"

Akiyama lowered his hand: King of Clubs, Ten of Spades, Two of Diamonds, Three of Clubs, and the Fours of Hearts and Spades. A pair.

Osamu wanted to laugh at the crap, but he wasn't doing much better: Six of Hearts, Two of Hearts, Nine of Spades, Jack of Spades, and Tens of Diamonds and Spades. Pair.

As Celes looked at Nao, Akiyama tapped his teacup as he asked, "Why are you so certain you already won?"

Celes giggled, "I apologize. This is one of those instances where I wish we were playing with six card hands. Oh the possibilities." She laid down her cards: a triplet of Aces and a triplet of Eights. "A Full House will just have to do."

"It won't." Osamu gave Nao a look as she showed her hand. A pair of Sixes, and several Sevens. "Four of a Kind."

Brain twisting into knots, Osamu could only gape. "What the f-"

Before the words exited his mouth, he turned to Celes, her head titled back slightly as she looked down on Nao's cards, otherwise expressionless. Somehow, Osamu was starting to sweat though. The dealer passed Nao her chips wordlessly: the dumb girl now had a stupid lead over him! 125 chips, while he and Akiyama were tied at 80. Celes was only a little behind at 115 chips.

Trying to calm down a bit, Osamu took off his dark gray coat as the next hands were being dealt. Finally checking his cards, he found the Jacks of Clubs and Hearts, Two of Spades, Eight of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, and the Nine of Spades. Not taking too long, he set down his passes before relaxing. He didn't get long to think before everyone finished up though: Celes was speeding things up.

Snatching his new cards: Nine of Diamonds, Eight of Spades, and Three of Hearts, he now had two pairs. He tossed aside one of them, but Nao said, "I'm making a tribute."

Osamu's head jerked over as he saw she'd placed down the Ten of Diamonds, moving ten chips into the pot. _Whyyyyyy?_ he grumbled. She and Akiyama made their discards easily, but Celes went back to taking her time.

When Osamu did get his discards, his brain stuck, baffled. The Queen of Spades and the Ace of Clubs. "Why?" he mouthed, before smacking his mouth shut. He wasn't getting this game at all. Luckily he didn't have to, making his last, lone pass.

After a moment, Nao picked her ten back up, returning it to her hand, announcing, "I'm taking this back." Osamu had no comment.

Passes done, Osamu took his new card, hissing a bit. It was the Ten of Diamonds she'd tributed. Why'd she tribute it if she was just going to give it away!? Squashing his hand into one stack, he lazily balanced it upright on the table with a finger, not caring anymore.

On the other side, Akiyama held his cards in one hand, think for a moment before stating, "Check."

Celes kept her face blank until Nao looked over, putting another ten chips next to her fee. "Just the minimum for now."

Osamu knew she was up to something, snorting, "Fold." Tipping his hand over, it only scattered slightly, the Ten of Diamonds being the only card visible.

Noticing a hard look from Celes' red eyes, he felt a chill run down his spine, but she moved on, calmly sliding ten chips forwards. That same moment, Akiyama placed his hand face down. "Fold."

Nao looked back at her cards, before stating, "Call."

"Then it begins." Still somber, Celes lowered her hand, spreading it out: Queen of Spades next to a Full House. Jacks of Spades, Hearts, and Clubs with Nines of Spades and Diamonds.

Osamu spread out his hand a bit more. A pair of Eights was his best, while he also had a Three of Hearts, the Two of Spades, the Ace of Clubs, and the Ten of Diamonds.

Akiyama said nothing as he showed an all red hand: Three, Four, and Five of Diamonds and Ten, Ace, and Queen of Hearts.

Nao giggled, "Two in a row~" She showed her hand: a Pair of Twos and three Kings along with the Queen of Diamonds. A Full House, her Kings trumping Celes' Jacks.

Osamu almost had a breath of relief as Celes seemed to be chill about the whole thing, taking her cup of tea. The dealer said, "You have another ten minute break." In lighter spirits this time, Nao got up, Akiyama following. Osamu's nostrils flared when the door closed: probably getting in a quick-

Hair on the back of his neck standing up, he turned to see Celes' ugly sneer, her guarded finger jabbing at him as she sneered, "What do you think you're doing you..."

Giving a weak smile, Osamu muttered, "I-I'm trying!"

"Regrettably. You're fooling no one, no matter how hard you try."

Osamu flinched, before muttering some nonsense.

Celes hissed, "Yes, had I folded, but with your embarrassing display I felt I had to show some measure of pride. I couldn't simply _let_ her walk away after tributing so boldly."

Osamu swallowed, before recalling, "Yeah, and then giving that Ten to me! What gives!?"

Celes rested her elbow in one hand as she brought up her other to think. "It was quite clear the first time: in tributing a Seven, she requested Akiyama hand her Sevens. But the next time, even though I myself passed Akiyama a Ten to test them, he did not pass it to her, and she gave away hers. Both cards were in the Diamond suit...she was signaling him somehow."

"What, like, morse code?"

Celes gripped her teacup, Osamu flinching, knowing that the tea was still hot. She relaxed her grip though, continuing, "Suit...and number...neither of those things could be a part of the signal. All cards have both, so there would be no reliable way...ah!" Raising a fingers to her pursed lips, she gave a cute smile, giggling, "Oho~"

Not surprised by the vague, mysterious bullshit, Osamu kept his eyes on Celes until she began, "Akiyama Shinichi, you live up to your reputation. There is another quality to the cards he's using."

Osamu thought, before flinching, "Not-"

"Shh!" Celes hissed, glaring again. Calming down with a sip of tea, she explained, "The symmetry. It's quite elegant, really." Osamu blinked in confusion until she continued, "The Ten of Diamonds, the face cards, Twos, Fours, other Tens, and all Diamonds are symmetrical, except for the Seven of Diamonds. All other cards are horizontally asymmetrical."

Osamu fuzzled his eyebrow, noting, "But Sixes and Eights are even."

Clicking her tongue, Celes looked to the dealer, who complied, fishing out the Eight of Clubs from the deck. Taking another look, Osamu saw where he messed up: there were two columns of three Club symbols, with one column of two sandwiched in the middle. The bottom one in each column was flipped though. The two right in the middle of the card could point up or down.

Celes handed the card back as she stated, "It's likely that that came up with some kind of system using this. The first time, Nao tributed the Seven of Diamonds, which may have been inverted or not. Then she tributed the Ten of Diamonds, which was symmetrical. I can only attempt to fathom what each orientation means to them. Luckily you need not worry your head over it. Focus merely on the suit and whether or not the card is high or low: surely you can handle that much?"

"Yeah..." Osamu grunted.

Done for now, the two returned to quiet, before Akiyama and Nao returned before the end of the break. A minute later, the dealer changed spots again, standing between Akiyama and Nao.

"We're starting the third set," the dealer said to no one, passing out the cards.

This time though, Osamu was on top of things, watching carefully. Even before anyone took their cards, there was something to note about two of Nao's. Osamu could feel the edges of his lips twitch.

Picking up his cards, he saw the Ace of Diamonds, the Five of Hearts, the Ten of Hearts, the Eight of Spades, the Queen of Spades, and the King of Spades. While on any other day, he'd send the King out the door, he was feeling pretty confident, instead passing off the Ace, Five, and Ten. Celes took her sweet time, as usual, before the dealer was able to give the signal. Taking his new cards, Osamu wasn't disappointed to find the Seven, the Two, and the Three of Hearts.

Staying back a moment, he looked at the other two: Nao wasn't about to make any moves, though Akiyama had two cards separated; probably going to tribute them. Celes moved first though, sliding a Five of Hearts onto the table. "I'm making a tribute," she stated, moving her chips onto the table.

Barely suppressing a grin at his contribution, Osamu passed along the cards in the Heart suit he could: Two and Three. In no time, the others made their passes too.

Looking at his next cards, Osamu beamed. Next to the Ten of Spades was the Four of Hearts. Throwing it along, the last round of passing was done in moments.

The first round of betting took a little longer, as Nao stared at her hand for a few moments, before looking around.

"Hem hem," Celes cleared her throat, picking up her Five of Hearts she'd tributed.

Nao blinked, before gasping, "Ah! I'm sorry!" Osamu rolled her eyes as she looked back at her hand, before beginning, "I bet." Ten chips got shoved over near Celes' five.

Osamu looked at his measly hand: he'd gotten an Ace of Spades from Nao for some reason, but it was his highest car-wait, shit.

Aside from his Seven of Hearts, he had a King, a Ten, an Eight, and a Queen, all Spades. He was one fucking card a way from a _Royal Flush_. Was Celes' luck rubbing off on him?

"Raise," Osamu called, pushing fifteen chips forwards.

Celes eyed him for a moment, seemingly unimpressed, before stating, "Call."

"Fold." Akiyama was being a puss.

Nao looked between the two, before deciding, "Call."

Each of them having bet 15 chips, plus Celes' 5 from the tribute, this pot was loaded. Satisfied, Osamu concluded, "Call." Not wasting a moment, he dropped his hand first, "A flush." He moaned, "One away from a Royal one too..."

Procedure set, Akiyama lazily flipped over his hand: Eight of Diamonds, Eight of Clubs, Six of Clubs, Five of Clubs, Ten of Hearts, and the Three of Diamonds. Osamu didn't pay him much mind.

Looking over to Nao, Celes noted, "Had Osamu beaten your hand, I imagine you would have been far more distressed." It was true: Celes nailing it threw Nao off even more than his almost Royal Flush had...

Holding up her cards, she suggested, "On three?"

Nao stayed tough as Celes counted down, the two dropping their hands at once.

Nao had a Full House. Three Jacks, including Osamu's missing Jack of Spades, plus two Kings and an Ace.

Celes had a Straight Flush: Ace of Hearts through Six of Hearts. Nao didn't stand a chance.

As Nao's face plummeted, Celes giggled, "How sad. To think those cards you gave away fell right into my hand." Guilty, Nao shifted back as Celes laughed, "Fufufufu."

Though the backs were hidden now, Osamu had gotten a good look at them earlier: Celes didn't bring her tea for a light drink. As they played the earlier hands, she had been lightly dabbing the tip of her finger with just enough to leave on the back of some of the Heart suit cards, some low, some high. While most of it was wiped off and quickly dried between the green padding on the table and the air, dry but cool in the summer heat and air conditioner, it was just enough to leave a visible discoloration, though only if you knew what to look for. A green tea stain would have show up on a red backed card, but a light brown was easier to hide.

Osamu didn't even bother to hide his grin. They had them cornered, no matter how many stupid tricks they had up their sleeve.


	4. Chapter 4

Sliding his cards over to the dealer, Akiyama reached over to take his first sip of tea. Setting his cup back down, he rested his hands on his knees, looking between the others. Nao seemed a bit concerned over the loss, while Osamu was grinning like an idiot. Celes had her composure, but the light upturn of the edges of her lips and her slow body language revealed her pride in her victory: she'd regained her lead over Nao, after all.

As the next cards were dealt, Akiyama watched as Osamu's eyes spun around, keeping track of all the cards again while Celes was perfectly calm. After a few more moments Akiyama was able to take his hand: Two of Spades, Ten of Diamonds, Queen of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, Ace of Diamonds, and Nine of Diamonds. Nao hadn't tributed anything yet, so Akiyama gave her a bit of time before passing on his Ace, and Queen, and a Two. He could have sent both Queens, but if Nao's hand was already near completion, then she'd have to break it up. By spacing out the Queens he could at least guarantee her a pair.

Once the passes were done, Akiyama took his cards from Celes before giving the players a look. Nao seemed to be concentrating, but Osamu was flustered about something, eyes darting between his and Celes' hands. He calmed down for a moment after resting his eyes on Celes, but then she pulled a card from her hand, pushing her chips forward. "I'm making a tribute."

Osamu looked back at her hand, then at the Six of Diamonds she'd placed down, then back at her other cards. He was blinking far too fast to be calm. Shakily, his hand moved to to his cards as he stewed over his choices.

Going back to his own matters, Akiyama now had the Ten of Spades, the Two of Clubs, and the Five of Spades. The Two would have been something Nao could have used, but the Tens were more promising, since he could pass both of them to her at once. He quickly did so.

Once the next round of passes had finished, Akiyama watched Osamu and Celes. Sure enough, there was a brief flash in Celes' eyes as she picked up her new cards, her fingers sliding a bit closer as she gripped them tighter.

Looking at his own two cards, he found the Queen and the Jack of Hearts. To give these cards that had won her so many hands away, Celes must have been struggling. That Queen was going to Nao, but not for a few more seconds.

Akiyama waited until Osamu's eyes were on his hand. Jack in the rear, he dropped the Queen, sliding it towards Nao. Osamu looked back at Celes' hand, clearly sweating, even as he passed along his last card.

Once everyone had their hands, Akiyama finding an Eight of Diamonds, Nao didn't waste a second this time. "I'm betting ten chips."

Osamu looked down, muttering, "I fold..."

Celes huffed, "As much as it disgusts me, I must fold."

Akiyama threw down his mediocre hand, stating, "Good. Change out the deck. We're done with your jokes."

Eyes innocent, Celes gasped, "Oh my. Whatever do you mean?"

Akiyama suggested, "Ask him. He's the reason you ended up with a crap hand, isn't it."

Celes was placid, before she mumbled, "Oh, is that so?"

Nao pouted, "Aren't we going to show our hands?" She revealed her triplet of Queens and pair of Tens next to an Ace, before mumbling, "I liked this hand too but I didn't win much."

Celes spat, "Such conceit. How many man hours would one in your low social class have to work to achieve five million yen?" With a flick of her wrist, she showed her hand: three Twos and a pair of Sevens, her tributed Six still on the table.

Osamu grumbled, "I don't know what you're talking about." He fanned out his hand: Eights of Spades and of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, Three of Clubs, Five of Clubs, King of Hearts.

Akiyama chortled, pushing his own Two forwards, "Maybe if you hadn't marked the cards, you might have walked off with a Four of a Kind."

"Eeeeeh!?" Nao gasped. Picking up her Queen of Hearts, she studied it, before looking at the side for a dent.

"No, not there. The back." At his behest, she flipped it over, studying the back, before gasping, "Ah! What is this..."

Picking up his cup, Akiyama twirled his remaining drink around, Osamu clenching a fist. "She's been doing it since the beginning: even in the mock game. Once I noticed she was only marking Heart cards, I got some tea and mixed it up a bit." Grabbing Celes' Six of Diamonds on the table, he flipped it over, showing the stain on the back. "This was where you first realized it, right, Osamu?"

Averting his eyes, Osamu muttered, "F-fuck off."

"I also had the Two of Clubs, the Ten of Diamonds, and the Queen of Diamonds marked, plus a few more in the thought there were more Heart cards than there were on the table, so you kept pushing for Celes to get another Straight Flush like last time, but she'd could only get a Flush at best, and she'd already given up her Two. It was over by then."

Osamu grumbled, "S-stop acting like we're working togeth-"

"Let me guess, because you came in and sat in the last available spot? We did leave you alone during the first break. Your showing during the first few hands might have been to get on her good side, so once you were alone with her you could wag your tail and hope she gave you a treat. You might want to reconsider though: you're in the hole."

While Osamu festered, Celes scoffed, "Oh? You would let him wallow, Akiyama-san? And what of you, dear Nao-chan? Even were you somehow to win should all of us turn against you, would you still 'save us'?" Celes giggled at the thought.

"Akiyama-san wouldn't-"

"No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't save Osamu, and he won't win. I will."

Nao's eyes were firm. She didn't look away, though she didn't have a reply either.

Picking up his cards, Akiyama slid them towards the dealer, ordering, "We need a fresh deck. One for every hand we have left."

Celes noted, "And don't forget to separate my Six of Diamonds. It remains tributed."

Break time. Akiyama stood, heading out, as did Nao. For a change, he could hear Celes and Osamu leaving as well, though he paid them no mind as he went to their usual room.

Once they were alone, Nao let out a short whine, groaning, "She's so scary. And she seemed so nice at first..." Looking up, she wondered, "When did you mark the cards?"

"I needed the tea first. After that I only did it when Celes was drinking her tea or focusing on you. She was watching me a lot at first so I had to be careful."

Nao nodded, comprehending, before returning to her gloom once again. Akiyama gave a bit of reassurance: "We're doing fine. Now that we blew open their cheating, we just need to figure out how to take the lead back from Celes. You're not far behind though."

"I'd need a really good hand though. Almost all of hers have been really good."

"We've put together some good ones. Don't fuss about it. We already figured out the two tricks to her 'luck'. It's not something that really exists." Nao looked down at the ground. She didn't seem convinced. Akiyama insisted, "Just tribute like you've been doing. It works."

Nao frowned, "I'm just not sure if it'll be enough." Nao was normally trusting, but swayable by logic. Yet here, she'd been quite convinced of Celes and her supposed luck.

At the end of the break, Akiyama and Nao returned to the game room just as Celes and Osamu were seating themselves, the Six of Diamons in front of Celes. The dealer fanned out the fresh deck, the cards blue backed, before he began to deal the hands.

Ready for the next set, Akiyama took his new cards: Ace of Spades, Jack of Diamonds, Five of Hearts, Five of Clubs, Six of Hearts, and Eight of Hearts. The Ace was an easy pass to Nao unless she tributed, but looking at the rest of his cards, Akiyama may have found a way to get Celes to squirm.

Waiting until Celes had seemed to shift a few cards over in her hand, Akiyama declared, "I'm making a tribute." Placing the Five of Hearts down and moved his chips forward. Seeing that Celes didn't even twitch, while Osamu was pretending he didn't exist. Dissatisfied, Akiyama claimed, "I'm making another tribute." Celes was watching him now as he put down the Jack of Diamonds and pushed ten more chips into the pot next to his other five. Osamu's face tightened while Celes seemed to be looking a bit harder at her cards. Nao looked on helplessly, but Akiyama paid her no mind: she knew what she was supposed to do.

Passing along the Six of Hearts, the Eight of Hearts, and the Ace of Spades, leaving the Five of Clubs alone in his hand, Akiyama waited for the rest of the passes. Celes only took slightly longer than usual, and when Akiyama got his cards, he found a King of Spades, an Eight of Spades, and a Nine of Clubs. Thinking over his options for a brief moment, he passed along the King and the Nine from what Celes had.

Once the others passed their cards, Akiyama picked up his new ones: a Five of Spades and an Eight of Clubs. That was good. Too good. He had a Five laying down right in front of him, and an Eight was just passed to him last time. Celes just handed him a Two Pair. Akiyama couldn't see her beating that though: not with her Six tributed and taking up a spot in her hand. Still, she could pick it up at any time before they showed their hands. Was Osamu sending her cards around it? Except for the King, all of Celes' passes could have been made into Straights, but nothing was in the Diamond suit, so it was more likely she was keeping that: a Flush did beat a Straight.

Wanting to hold on to his Full House, he picked his Jack of Diamonds back up, holding on to it for a moment and shuffling it into his hand before passing it to Nao once Celes had made her choice. Taking his last card, he found the Jack of Hearts. Seems she saw his move coming once he picked up the Jack, though it wasn't as though there was any other reason for picking it up at that point.

Once everyone had their hands...

...

"Imbecile."

"Huh?" Osamu grunted.

"Open the betting," Celes hissed with a glower.

"Oh, uh, fuck. What's the one where you don't wanna start?"

"Check," the dealer answered,

"Yeah, that."

Celes seethed for a moment, before taking a sip of her tea, glancing back at her hand. Smiling slightly, she said, "I will Check as well."

"Bet. Ten chips, "Akiyama said, putting more of his chips into the pot.

Nao swallowed, looking at him for a moment, before: "C-call."

Osamu took a moment before snorting, "Fold."

Celes pushed her chips forwards. "Call."

"Check," Akiyama said."

Nao looked between her cards and Akiyama, before retreating, "Fold."

Akiyama felt a bit of a jolt. This was his fault...no. Celes pushed her away by staying in. If she'd left then Akiayama and Nao were at liberty to pump the pot full and give Nao a huge win, then spend the rest of the game folding. There were no blinds, so Celes couldn't force them to bet. He should have warned her, but it was too late now.

Celes asked, "Well?"

Osmau showed off his hand: a Pair of Nines being his best, next to the Two of Spades, the Five of Diamonds, the Eight of Hearts, and the Six of Spades.

Nao lowered her Two Pair. King of Spades, King of Hearts, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Spades, Queen of Diamonds, and Jack of Diamonds.

Akiyama picked up his tributed Five of hearts, filling out his Full House. Celes hardly seemed disappointed as she showed a Seven of Diamonds, a Seven of Hearts, a Ten of Hearts, a Ten of Clubs, and the King of Diamonds, her Six still on the table. A Two Pair, lower than Nao's.

Nao gasped. "I..."

Celes giggled, "Such a shame. You pulled your hat out of the ring too quickly."

The dealer passing Akiyama his chips: 25 from his tributes and 20 from Celes and Nao, even though he'd won the hand he hardly felt victorious at all. While he was back at 100 chips, Celes was still ahead of Nao by five. There was no victory or loss here. Cards returned to the dealer, Nao lowered her head as he broke out a new deck and passed out the next cards.

Holding his hand, he saw the King of Diamonds, Sixes of Clubs and Spades, the Seven of Clubs, the Nine of Clubs, and the Ten of Hearts.

As he bid his time, Osamu made a quick pass. He got something good. Akiyama and Celes were waiting as Nao took time to decide. Once again she decided not to tribute, so Akiyama sent her the best cards he had: the King, the Nine, and the Ten.

After Celes passed, he looked at the cards she sent: Ten of Clubs, Five of Clubs, and the Two of Hearts. Though he was one card away from a Flush, he readied himself to send one of the Sixes when she placed a card down, pushing ten chips forwards. "I'm making a tribute," Nao said, the Nine of Clubs laying in front of her. While it was assymetrical, it was not inverted, the club in the center pointing across the table at Celes.

Now Akiyama could move with certainty. Had it been a symmetrical card, he'd have done his best to send her pairs. In the event she tributed nothing, like before, he'd have sent the highest cards he could. Had she tributed the card upside down, Akiyama would have sent her cards of the same kind, or around it in hopes of a Straight or Four of a Kind. This time, however, it wasn't inverted, meaning Nao was after a Flush or Straight Flush.

Having a plethora of Clubs to send, Akiyama went with the highest ones, sending the Ten and the Seven. Opposite him, Osamu seemed a bit cocky, his eyes relaxed in a certain confidence, while Celes wasn't often easy to read. Akiyama had to give her that.

One the next set of passes were done, Akiyama hesitated as he saw what Celes was giving up: the Ace of Spades, alongside the 7 of Hearts. With her hand so cramped due to the Tributed Six, it was possible she was pawning the Ace off, but how much better could her hand really be? There was a chance she was giving away a good card in an attempt to mess with him, or she happened to have better somehow, but that seemed unlikely: neither she nor Osamu had tributed anything, and her Six of Diamonds was still on the table. There was no room in her hand for her to wait for good cards from Osamu.

When it came to his own, final pass, he had no reason not to send the Six of Clubs, except...

If Celes had nothing, then there'd be no reason not to send Nao the Six, but if Celes somehow did have something better, then Nao having a stronger hand could mean they'd risk her losing even more chips than the ten she had to give up for her tribute. Putting the fact that Celes passed him the Ace and that both her and Nao seemed to have confidence in Celes' supposed luck...

Making his pass, Akiyama waited, prepared for things to unfold. Getting his final card, he added the Six of Hearts to his hand, becoming immediately suspicious. He had the Seven of Hearts too, and the Ten he passed earlier...

Not having anything worth betting on, Osamu started things off with, "Check."

Celes began, "I'll open betting with ten chips."

Akiyama hesitated, before confirming, "Fold."

Nao swallowed, looking closely at her hand, before pushing ten chips forwards. "Call."

Osamu sighed, placing his hand down, "Fold."

"Raise," Celes called, pushing ten more chips in.

Nao started to sweat. Her lips quivered as she tried to make her call, Osamu chortelling at her expense. Finally, she swallowed, deciding, "C-call."

Once she pushed her chips in, Celes smiled. "I have no interest in raising the pot further." Raising a hand to her mouth, she giggled, "You would not Call again regardless."

Akiyama threw down his hand, used to things, as Nao picked up her Nine, determined. This time, however, Celes didn't beat around the bush, showing her hand casually. Akiyama was normally unflappable, but he felt his eyes run over her cards again in disbelief. "Oh no," Nao gasped, crestfallen.

Celes brandished a Royal Flush. The Ace of Hearts through the Ten of Hearts Akiyama himself had passed along. Osamu snickered.

"Ohohohohoho~" Celes laughed as the dealer passed her the pot.

* * *

Fans whirring, the muggy office still felt hot, the faint buzz of a half dozen CRT monitors all running at once serving as a reminder. Said fans were not pointed at the two men in the room, but at the equipment, to keep it running in the heat. The monitors each displayed a separate view of the game taking place on the upper floor: in particular their hands, though at the moment another break was in order.

Fanning himself, a portly man with short gray hair and gold eyes behind his spectacles let out a low whistle, muttering, "A Royal Flush? Don't see that every day." Standing, his suit coat folded over the metal folding chair he sat on, he said, "I'm getting some air."

"Be my guest, Heiwajima-san," Urquhart said, opening the door for him. As the two spilled out into the hall, Urquhart noted, "I wished the accommodations were more suitable, but I was not expecting company."

Waving his hand, Heiwajima replied, "No, it's quite alright." Adjusting the cuff of his white dress shirt, the buttons shaped in the emblem of Hope's Peak Academy, he mentioned, "As far as scouting goes this is nothing compared to my excursion to the Middle East to verify a story by another one of our prospects for the 78th Class." Patting down his forehead with a handkerchief, he added, "It's like a vacation, really."

Urquhart noted, "I expect no less dedication from one in your position." Briefly glancing back at the monitor room, he wondered, "What do you think of the game thus far?"

Heiwajima grumbled, "I wish I could see what the players are talking about when they leave the room, but otherwise it's facinating. I wasn't familiar with these underground gambling rings before Miss Ludenburg contacted me."

Urquhart wondered, "Is it normal for potential Hope's Peak students to contact you?"

"Most don't need too, and most of the requests we anyway receive are bogus, so she's quite lucky I'm here." For a moment, his face became jaded as he muttered, " _Luck_."

Not pressing the derision, Urquhart pondered, "Her luck and strategy against Akiyama's...it hardly seems fair."

* * *

Returning to their private office, Akiyama was quiet as he stood, giving Nao a moment to sort through her thoughts. Finally, she admitted, "I lost again..."

Thinking about her hand Akiyama recalled a triplet of Aces, the King of Diamonds, and a pair of black Nines. Akiyama asked, "Walk me through your hand."

Nao moaned, "I know...I passed on the Ten of Hearts."

Trying to keep Nao calm, Akiyama bid, "It's not over. Celes and Osamu could just fold every hand and walk away with what they have, but I feel like they're going to try and take it all. We have two hands to break her huge lead."

Nao seemed uncertain, before she began, "I started with the King, Jack, Eight, and a Two of Clubs, and the Six of Hearts and the Five of Spades. I kept those good Club cards and the you passed me the Ten of Hearts, the King of Diamonds, and the Nine of Clubs. I tributed that one, then I passed the Ten of Hearts and the King of Diamonds so my hand was all Clubs, then you passed me the Seven and Ten of Clubs, but-"

"Once you passed the Ten of Hearts, there was no of stopping Celes at that point. By the time the last round of passing was done, Celes had given me one Heart card each time, so I realized that Osamu was probably sending her a bunch of Heart cards. I didn't expect a Royal Flush though."

Nao whined, "I had a Straight Flush! It was my best hand so far..."

"I had another idea when it comes to tributing, so listen for a second."

Nao blinked, before wondering, "But...did you figure out their 'luck'?" Akiyama was silent for a moment. Nao reiterated, "Is there some kind of trick to it?"

Akiyama admitted, "I didn't see any sort of listening device on either Osamu or Celes, and he has the window seat, so it's unlikely we're being spied on from outside the building, even though knowing our cards would only help so much. Even if, for instance, Liar Game were working with them-"

"Ehh!?" Nao gasped, reeling at the thought.

"Right. I watched the dealer as closely as I could but I didn't see anything weird about his shuffling. He's been moving around, but Celes still won hands when she was on the other side of the table from him. Even if there was something I didn't catch, I don't think Celes would cheat like that: she wants to beat us under Liar Game's rules."

"But when it comes to her luck...I can't see it as being the real deal, but there's no trick. She won the last hand fair and square."

Nao's eyes widened, the girl look downward, but Akiyama didn't have the means to reassure her.


	5. Chapter 5

Red eyes looking deeply into the mirror, a hand hovered over her face as Celestia checked every contour of her face. Several times she had lost her composure back there...it was truly a shame she had been lumped with a fool such as Osamu.

Stepping back, she beamed proudly at her own image before adjusting her finger guard and returning to the hall outside. Heading down to the game room, she caught faint conversation of her opponents through the door of their retreat, though their conversation quieted as her dainty step became audible. Celestia didn't blame them in the slightest: were she ever in a tight spot, she would do whatever she could to keep her strategies under tight lock. Though it was not as though she'd ever been in such a pinch...

Scents of candles wafting to her nose as she sat back in her seat, she briefly glanced at Osamu, sitting lazily in the light from the window, though she quickly averted her eyes, as if she might catch his slobbishness like a disease. Reaching off to the side, she took her teapot, draining the last of it into her cup. It was really no mystery as to why she had to take a toilet break at this juncture.

Before she could take a sip, Akiyama and Nao returned, the break concluding shortly thereafter. Celestia felt her heartbeat begin to quicken as she grew excited for the conclusion. She glanced at her pile of poker chips: the largest by a fair margin. How much higher could it go?

From her left, the dealer gave Celestia her blue backed Six of Diamonds before shuffling well and releasing the hands. Celestia let an eye rest on Nao sitting across from her, the woman clearly nervous, but determined.

"Do you think you can pull that off again?"

Celestia looked over to Akiyama, querying, "Whatever do you mean?"

Akiyama noted, "The Royal Flush of Hearts. For that matter, you seem to get Hearts and Queens almost too often."

Celestia giggled, "If the cards choose to play favorites, then I am not guilty."

Akiyama was silent as the last of the cards were passed. Celestia took a light sip of her tea before taking a look.

Akiyama may have been on to something: her dear friend the Queen of Hearts had come for another visit. The Six of Hearts was along too, and it would pair nicely with the Six of Diamonds Celestia so dearly wished to take off the table. It was such a troublesome child. A pair of Threes, one of Hearts and one of Spades, seemed to be a plus, but as things were they wouldn't fit into her hand. The Seven of Spades was yet another boorish obtrusion.

Holding on to her Queen and Six, she readied herself to pass along the Threes and Seven. Of course, she was not so hasty: what was the rush? It was her policy not to move first if it was not required.

Osamu, naturally, already put his passes down near Celes. Such unsightly speed, though Celestia expected no more of him at this point. Nao had her three passes prepared as well, but that was not all as she placed the Ace of Spades down. "I'm making a tribute."

Once Nao pushed chips from her shrinking pile to the pot, Celestia felt her eyes narrow a shade as she took stock of that Ace. It was pointing at her rather than Nao. Last time she had tributed an asymmetrical card, it was the Nine of Clubs, and her hand resulted in a Straight Flush. Before that, the only instance had been the Seven of Diamonds of forgotten orientation, which had resulted in Four of a Kind, while tributing the symmetrical Ten of Diamonds ended with her Full House. With those in mind, Celestia had a picture of their strategy: Nao sought a Flush of Spades.

Glancing back at her hand, Celestia's eyes idled on her Three and Seven of Spades. In no way would the Seven be involved in a straight Flush with an Ace, but the Three was a shade dangerous. Celestia could take up her Six of Diamonds and pass that along with her other Six, but Celestia had a feeling that letting the Six of Diamonds go forgotten by sitting there for such a length could work in her favor.

Always one to follow her inner feeling, Celestia made no changes to her passes, handing over the Threes and the Seven. Nao was not as lucky as her: the other pieces for the Straight Flush were simply not on the board, Celestia was certain! For that matter, if Akiyama were to receive Spades, he would continue to believe that Celestia had yet to pierce his strategy, which could become invaluable in the next hand if not in the current one.

After the dealer so kindly gave the signal, Celestia took the cards offered by Osamu. He knew his place: Celestia now possessed the Queen of Diamonds, and the Three and Five of Hearts. While the idea of holding on for a Straight Flush continued to prod her, Celes chose to bet on her ladies, passing on the Three and Five of Hearts. Akiyama was likely to pass on his Three of Spades, so the risk of him holding on to a pair was low.

Nao however looked like she was struggling a bit. While she'd made her passes, she kept glancing sideways at Akiyama, who was still. Osamu's eyes were wandering...

Once Nao made her passes, Akiyama and Celestia made theirs, as per usual. Celestia didn't need to wait long to receive her next two cards: the Queen of Clubs and the Six of Spades. How she wanted to keep her two triplicates, but the fat had to be cut. Celestia severed her Six of Spades, as if to mock Akiyama: perhaps it was the last card Nao needed in her hand?

The final round went quickly, Celestia picking up her King of Clubs from Osamu. The dealer still at her right, she began, "My turn to open once again? I shall." Ten chips joined Nao's fifteen.

"Call," Akiyama followed.

Nao looked at her hand, face sour, before she lowered it. "Fold..." Celestia giggled at her expense. Such an inconsistent strategy they had!

"Call," Osamu said, putting his chips in. Celestia appreciated the patronage to her lead.

"I will raise no further," Celestia concluded. Holding her hand tightly, she requested, "Nao-chan?"

Nao looked hard at her Ace, likely wondering whether or not she should pick it up or use it in the final round. She decided to take it up, however, showing a Flush of Spades: the Ace, Seven, Eight, Nine, and the Queen, and an out of place Five of Hearts. Had she held the Six at one point, Celestia wondered? So close yet so far...

Still, how curious: Celestia had held that Five of Hearts: why would Akiyama pass it to her? Perhaps he simply had nothing better? Yet he bet, and showed his hand next: aside from the Six of Spades she'd just passed, he had the Twos of Diamonds and Hearts with the Threes of Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts. A Full House.

Celestia was suspicious: why did he hold on to that Three? Not that it would have improved Nao's had...perhaps he noted her unease and held it on to himself for a higher chance at winning? Despite their strategy, he lacked trust in her as a partner. Perhaps they should have come up with a signal for 'let us give up hope and take our needless idealism with us as we declare bankruptcy'.

Celestia picked up her Six before dropping her Full House, giggling, "Perhaps you are on to something, Akiyama-san, as the Queen of Hearts simply cannot keep herself out of my hands."

She waited for the dealer to pass her the chips, but Osamu mumbled, "Do we have to show our hands?"

The dealer was silent for a moment, before he sputtered from behind his mask, "You are still in the pot, Osamu-san."

Osamu dropped his hand, Celestia not even bothering to give it a look as she took a sip of tea, but Akiyama let out a light chuckle. Celestia leered an eye down and choked on her drink.

Osamu had all four Fours, along with the Seven of Clubs and the Five of Spades.

Nearly tossing her teacup at him, Celestia jabbed her hand at him as she hacked, "What do you think you're doing!?"

Osamu flinched as he was splashed with tea, brushing it away before growling, "I didn't do it on purpose!" He jabbed a finger at Nao as he explained, "She passed me half of them! I would have passed some to you but I had better stuff! Then I had too many. If I'd tried then we'd both have useless cards!"

Celestia threw herself back in her chair, feeling heated. Placing her sloppy cup down, she realized it wasn't only her anger: some of her tea had ended up down the front of her dress. Celes grimaced, reaching for her tea table, but there was nothing there to clean up the mess. The bathroom was rather poorly stocked as well: she would have to take it to the cleaners as soon as humanely possible. Snatching up her tea set, she glowered at the dealer: "Clean up this table and deal the final hand. If my dress doesn't reach the cleaners in time I'll have someone's head!"

Once the table was clear of teacups and tributes, the dealer cracked open the final red deck of cards, shuffling before passing out the last cards. Tapping her finger on the table, she snapped up her hand once it was in place, not wanting to take a moment too long. She'd brought her favorite dress today, and it was not going to be irreparably ruined over Osamu's folly. She had fair lead: 140 to Osamu's 100, Akiyama's 90, and Nao's 70, but she could not play recklessly at this stage. If Celes and Osamu were to drop out of betting, then Akiyama and Nao would simply be able to bet everything they had and surpass her lead

Glancing at her hand, she was a bit curious. She had two Queens, one of Spades and one of Diamonds, along with the King of Hearts, the Jack of Diamonds, the Ten of Hearts, and the Seven of Hearts. This was not the shape of a Royal Flush by any means. Yet, while she was the only one to see her hand, the others seemed to have a different preconception.

"Tribute," Akiyama said lazily, placing down a Jack of Hearts.

"Right," Nao added with a bit more determination, placing down an Ace of Hearts.

Celestia giggled, "You two are adorable in your paranoia. There are three other suits, you know~"

"Only one of them is 'Heart'," Akiyama stated.

Celestia briefly narrowed her eyes, but she knew it was he who was blind. And Celestia was keeping the 'theme' she'd accumulated over the course of this game. She had two of her Queens: the other two would come: she knew it! As the passes were being made, Celestia set aside her Ten and Seven of Hearts. Then, for Akiyama's enjoyment, she passed along the King of Hearts. The Queen was destined to fall into her hand once again: Akiyama would not have anything more than a standard Flush.

However, in Osamu's haste, he seemed to have failed to get the message. He'd passed along the Queen of Hearts, which Celestia so dearly desired, but the Eight and Nine of Hearts were...superfluous. While Celestia needed that Queen, she didn't want to pass on the Jack quite yet: Akiyama already had the Jack of Hearts, so instead she pushed along the Eight and Nine of Hearts. Let both him and Nao 'Flush' as Celestia so graciously ruined them!

The passing round was one of the fastest, Celestia quite grateful as she picked up her next two cards. Her Four of a Kind was set with the addition of the Queen of Clubs, and the King of Spades gave her solace.

She only needed to make one pass at this point, and it was obvious. Akiyama had, if only briefly, held on to both the Jack and King of Hearts at minimum, but only one of them would lead to Akiyama beating Celestia's hand. She passed on the Jack of Diamonds. Let him have a Four of a Kind if his luck granted it, but it would not.

Picking up her last card, the Six of Hearts from Osamu, she looked her cards over, before she said, "Let's not dawdle. I'll open the betting with fifteen chips."

"Call," Akiyama said before she'd finished.

Celestia glowered momentarily, but Nao said, "Call."

Osamu shrugged, "Call."

"Oho~" Celestia giggled, before proclaiming, "I rais-"

"Call," Akiyama said.

Celestia hissed, "I have yet to even declare the amount you-"

"You're the one who's in a rush," Akiyama noted.

Celestia felt her eye twitch as she nibbled her lower lip, but she refused to let that ugliness get the best of her. Readjusting her arms, she finished, "I raise by an additional thirty chips." She moved a bit of her pile, now 45 chips smaller, but Akiyama didn't flinch, moving a sizable chunk of his chips forward.

Nao was clearly sweating, but she continued, "C-call."

As she moved forwards, Osamu shrugged, "Fold."

Celes looked at the pot. Nao's 60 chips, Akiyama's 55, Osamu's measly 15, and Celestia's 45. 175 million (and one stained dress) riding on this hand: the highest stakes Celestia had ever found herself in. She giggled, "Shall we show our han-"

"Actually, I want to raise," Akiyama said, pushing in ten more chips. Celestia would have stumbled.

"O-okay," Nao said, calling.

Celestia looked at the pot, before confirming, "Call."

"All in."

Celestia scoffed. All 90 chips to his name were in that pot. Though her head was low, Nao pushed in everything she had as well, though it was only 70 minus her tribute fee. With Osamu's 15, Celestia stood to gain 200 million in this hand alone.

Was he mad? He still held the Jack of Hearts: there was zero possibility of him passing Nao anything remotely capable of defeating Celestia's average hand. Her expression showed as much!

"I will call," Celestia said, matching the 80 Akiyama had put during the betting round. Thinking to her suffering dress once again, she began, "On the count of three, we shall reveal our hands. One-two-three!"

As she flashed her cards, Nao dropped her hand almost out of fright while Osamu was a bit slow, putting his down almost out of afterthought. Osamu's was predictably pathetic: Ten of Diamonds and Spades, Sevens in the same two suits, the Six of Spades, and the Jack of Clubs. A Two Pair.

Nao had scooped her hand under her tributed Ace, giving her a triplet, next to a pair of Twos and the King of Hearts to make a Full House.

As Celestia waved about her Four Queens, she saw that Akiyama hadn't moved. "Hah!? Keep up, Akiyama-san."

"My bad, I'm just having trouble sorting things out."

Osamu shrugged, chortling, "Yeah, I could see a 100 million debt being tough to-"

"To be honest, I didn't want to believe your luck, but it's kind of hard to deny. If I ran the odds, the probabilities of you getting the cards you got today would be astronomical. I was sure you were cheating, but if you were then it would be...perfect. There would be zero error."

Celestia puffed out her chest, giggling, "At last, the plebeian sees the light.."

"You handed me everything I needed to bring me down, right from your own hand."

Celestia's mind went fuzzy, but Akiyama didn't let up, picking up his tributed Jack and showing his hand.

Her eyes ran across it several times. The Jack of Diamonds was off to the side like an unwanted stepchild to an ideallic family: the Seven of Hearts, the Eight of Hearts, the Nine, the Ten, and the Jack.

No, one of them had to be a Diamond, it...they were all Hearts.

Celestia's own heart seemed to sink into the pit of her stomach. Akiyama was right: she'd passed him almost all of those cards herself. Her hand gripped her Six of Hearts tightly, bending it, crumpling it, crushing it

She gritted her teeth roughly, enough that there was a straining sound and a taste of iron.

She saw the wrong shape of her hand.

It was _him_. _He_ ingrained the image of the Queen in her mind. No, he'd won with Hearts, the ones she'd thrown aside...the one's she'd needlessly sacrificed...

"Kku," Celestia gagged, eyes spinning. Her fallen heart seemed to have upset her stomach, making her nauseous. Why couldn't she have held on? She felt her dreams of Hope's Peak slipping away.

Curling forwards, she slumped in her seat. She heard some faint words as she saw the blot of color that was the pot of chips being passed to Akiyama. Then her eyes focused on the splotch of brown staining her dress, starting to dry.

"Ah, it's set..." Celestia droned.


	6. Chapter 6

"Unbelievable," Heiwajima gasped as the game concluded.

"Y-yes, quite the game."

"It really is fascinating: you wouldn't happen to have copies of any of the games these kids have played before, would you?"

"Er, unfortunately, they're not so easy to obtain. It is illegal gambling, after all."

Heiwajime sighed, "True. Such a shame really. I can't say I was rooting for her, but I'll have to look into Celes a bit in particular. She has potential to be Hope's Peak material. Perhaps I can get someone to interview her..."

"I'm sure she would be elated to hear it," Urquhart suggested.

Grabbing his coat, Heiwajima headed for the door, concluding, "Thank you for the accommodations. And, er, those other two, what were their names again?"

"Akiyama Shinichi and Kanzaki Nao?"

"Yes, them. Though Akiyama's an adult now...still, it's a good lesson for her. Plenty of Talents still have a ways to go." Opening the door, he finished, "Stay out of the heat."

"Y-you as well," Urquhart replied a bit awkwardly, before being left alone in the monitor room.

"..."

* * *

Nails scraping her pale knees, Celestia finally snapped back to reality to the worst possible sound.

"Yoooo. Earth to Celes. Celes? Celes!? ...Taeko-chan."

Celestia's hand whipped out, smacking him across the face, a smack of metal being heard. "OW FUCK. That was your stupid finger guard!" Osamu roared.

Celestia clenched her hands, teeth bared, ready to shout out regarding how everything was his fault, but she had no ammo to fire. There was no excuse but her own tunnel vision. A _beginner_ would not have made that mistake...

Nao offered, "Er, it's fine! We'll clear your debts! You don't need to worry about the Liar Game, Celes-san. You can go back to Europe without-"

"Pfffffft," Osamu blurted. As he bit his lip, a hand gripped the edge of the table before he burst out, "About time someone believed it, huh, Tae-"

"One more word and I will _end you_!" Osamu only laughed harder. Nao was merely flustered, but Celestia knew her own face was a bit warm.

The door opened, Urquhart loudly declaring, "Congratulations, Akiyama-san! You will be moving on to-"

"Cut the crap," Akiyama demanded, silencing the revelry. "I played along, so tell me what's going on here. I thought it was a scam, but you guys can't be that stupid."

"Eh? Eh?" Nao mumbled.

Urquhart stammered, "Er, I-"

"That's enough...it's over anyway," Celestia moaned. Sitting up, she concluded, "It is as you guessed: the Liar Game Tournament Office has zero involvement in this game."

"Ehhhhhh!?" Nao gasped. At the very least she was more endearing than Osamu...

Nao turned to Akiyama, asking, "When did you figure it out?"

Akiyama admitted, "I was suspecting things were weird when I got the invite by mail instead of the usual representative. What confirmed it was the fact that we were up against complete strangers this late in the game. Tribute Poker just sealed the deal."

Celestia frowned, bitter. "I designed it, but I fits what I do know about the Liar Game's various escapades. Pray tell, where did I make a fault?"

Akiyama explained, "It was too random. So far, every game I've seen played so far except one had no randomness at all. The other one was 17 Card Poker, but I won that one by removing the random elements." Nao nodded, glowing a bit as she likely recalled those events. Akiyama added, "This time though, I figured that I had to rely on luck, just not mine."

Celestia felt her eye twitch as she muttered, "So the Liar Game has already done Poker..."

"Still, you were pretty close for someone who probably hasn't even played a round of the Liar Game. How do you even know about it?"

Osamu spoke, "That was me. There's this scrawny little...Magi...Makizono? Wears dumb looking big glasses and a cap all the time."

"Wah!" Nao gasped, recalling, "From the last two games."

"Yeah, I knew him. He was looking like shit the last few months until a while ago, so I bugged him about it. He was glad to talk about you two, even though all the Liar Game stuff didn't even sound real, but when I told Celes..."

"I saw an opportunity," she admitted.

Akiyama gave her a hard look, before asking, "And? If this was a scam, you wouldn't have given up so easily. You'd probably have gotten these two to help you cheat more two, but you didn't, like you had something to prove."

Nao wondered, "Wait, if they're not LGT Office staff..."

Urquhart explained, "We...are parents." Celestia cringed, but she was helpless as the two removed their masks, the dealer showing some rather pronounced front teeth and freckles while Urquhart had that annoying smile and those plain, boring brown eyes.

"You can call me Yasuhiro-san! Though playing Urquhart was kinda fun."

Nao noted, "N-not Ludenburg-san?" Celestia rumbled in anger, making Nao glance back at her sheepishly.

Yasuhiro laughed, "Nope! I still don't fully understand it, but the...what's the word..? I liked not being myself for a little bit."

"A-a-an-nonimity," the dealer stuttered.

"Sure! I liked it," Yasuhiro said, before adding, "Oh, and he's Osamu's dad. We've been friends since High School. Those two have been friends since they were kids though!"

Celestia scoffed, "'Friends' is quite a loose term in this context." Osamu's frown was full of displeasure but Celestia couldn't say she cared.

"Oh, you're like a family!" Nao said happily.

"NO!" Celestia and Osamu roared at once, glancing at each other before turning away in unison, prompting Yasuhiro to laugh again. Celestia wished that the building would collapse so she could climb to the top and watch the destruction as it fell out from under her.

Akiyama grumbled, "I still don't see the point of all this."

"Hmm, have you heard of Hope's Peak Academy?" Yasuhiro asked.

As Akiyama had a flash of recognition, Nao gasped, "Oh! That really good High School that only takes a few students a year?"

Celestia elaborated, "Yes, the very same. They are not hard to contact, so along with the invitations I sent to you, I requested a Hope's Peak representative from the school come to observe." Her situation sinking in, she muttered, "Yet it was all for nothing..."

"So that's what this was about," Akiyama stated.

Yasuhiro began, "Tae-er, Celestia-ch-"

"If he didn't fall for it, the game probably would have been stopped, right? I'd say you have a chance," Akiyama said. Celestia blinked, confused. "Maybe."

Yasuhiro said, "Well-"

Celestia scoffed, "I lost. Does Hope's Peak have room for losers?"

"You set this up, didn't you? And you're still only a teenager!" Nao added.

Osamu shrugged. "You've done plenty of other crap too. It's all you freakin' talk about."

Yasuhiro sputtered, "You see-"

Celestia huffed, "As if I would enroll myself in a school that excepts anything less than the best of the-"

"He told me!" Yasuhiro exclaimed, stopping Celestia. The room quiet, he continued, "Thank you. He, er, the Hope's Peak representative, told me that he's going to look into you. He might also shoot for an interview."

Celes felt her heart skip before the chill of defeat was overcome by a tender warmth. After realizing her eyes had been wide open and sparkling for far too long above her gaping mouth, she recomposed herself, turning her head aside as she stated, "Then...perhaps I should do my own evaluation of their past students to see if the institution is truly right for me..."

Letting out a sigh, Osamu stated, "I'm just glad this wasn't a big fucking waste of time." Celestia felt her eye twitch involuntarily.

Nao clapped, "Congratulations!" Akiyama seemed to give Nao a look, but she didn't seem to notice.

Clapping his hands together Yasuhiro suggested, "Who wants to go get some drinks?" As Osamu sat up, Yasuhiro snapped, "Not you."

"Pass," Akiyama said, standing up.

Yasuhiro thought for a moment, before stating, "Tell you what, I'll mail you when we get word of Celes' acceptance into Hope's Peak! Then I'll invite you two along: my treat! Seriously, I insist! We owe you!"

The usually composed Akiyama seemed a but put off as Yasuhiro drilled into him. Dodging around him, he grumbled, "Maybe," before slipping out the door, Nao giving Celes a quick wave before they went out of sight.

As the room quieted down, the sun starting the slip to orange, Yasuhiro asked, "Well, Celes, shouldn't you thank them?" Arms crossed over her chest, Celestia fully planned on being stubborn, but something stirred her on. Standing from her seat, she gracefully walked from the room after the pair.

* * *

Heeled shoes struggling against the cracked ground, Nao followed after Akiyama as they left the old, run down. Getting to his side, she puffed out a cheek, unleashing her toughest pout.

"What?" Akiyama asked. He was definitely crabby...

"You didn't tell me it wasn't really the Liar Game!" Nao whined.

Akiyama answered, "If you knew, you might not have played seriously."

"So?" Nao wondered. Akiyama paused. Trying to figure him out, Nao suggested, "Maybe you wanted to beat her fair and square?"

Akiyama kept quiet, before suggesting, "Maybe."

Changing subjects, Nao wondered, "Do you think you could have gone to Hope's Peak?"

Akiyama replied, "I wasn't a very special High School student. College helped me a lot."

Nao nodded. After a moment, she swallowed, before noting, "Celes is kind of scary then. If she wants a rematch after she graduates Hope's Peak..."

"I'm not sure if I'd bother. Besides, I might be swimming in debt: lets deal with the Liar Game for real first."

"Ah!" Nao gasped, the fact that they still had a real Revival Round to deal with sinking in. "Ahhhhhh! I forgot!" she whined.

As Nao whimpered, she was cut off by her growling stomach, which was probably asking for something more filling than tea. Akiyama sighed, offering, "Let's get something to eat."

Her previous pouty mood gone, Nao cheered, "Yay!" Before she skipped after Akiyama, she looked back down at her hand, where she grasped the Queen of Hearts from their last hand. Celes swore she'd win it back in the future, and while Akiyama was being a grump over the whole thing, part of Nao wanted to give the younger girl another chance.

* * *

 **August, 2010**

Taking a breath, Celestia stood still, looking through the gates and up at Hope's Peak Academy. She felt her heart flutter: she could not say for certain exactly what had led to this, but her tireless effort in trumping Yakuza in mahjong or earning every yen she could from any gambling parlor that would let the underaged girl in may have held some part in it.

Still, a part of her was a bit ill at ease: Celestia had checked the message boards discussing the makeup of the 78th Class, and it was believed that Celestia had become the Liar Queen of a certain underground Tournament. This may or may not have been the cause of several different posters with distinct typing voices and IP addresses potentially coordinating to corroborate a question in an interview that Celestia may or may not have been entirely truthful on, but even so, if Hope's Peak caught wind of any potential deceptions...

No, they would not. It's far more likely that it was why she was here. Heiwajima was none the wiser, and now they seemed to have a source claiming something contradicting his experience. Deception was the art of the gambler after all, and as long as they made no official statement, at the very least her classmates would believe her.

As she stepped forwards, she knew that she was going to graduate from here: there was no chance of anything otherwise.


End file.
